Ford Suspending F-150 Production

Visitors look as workers set up the Ford F-150 on display at the China Auto Show during the media day in Beijing, Wednesday, April 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

(Newser)
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After a May 2 fire at a supplier's factory in Michigan caused a shortage of parts, Ford on Wednesday suspended production of its F-150 pickup truck—the best-selling vehicle in the US for more than three decades. Production at General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, and Mercedes was also impacted, but Ford was hit the hardest: "For Ford, this is potentially enormous," an analyst tells the Detroit Free Press. "We have to rebuild the whole supply chain," an executive VP for the carmaker said in a briefing Wednesday, noting that the production halt would last at least "several days." A sales analyst says Ford has an 84-day supply of F-series trucks. The company has temporarily laid off 7,600 workers, the AP reports. (Read more Ford stories.)